Middle Man
by Mazzie May
Summary: Johnny Cage's list of accomplishments isn't limited to world shattering tournaments and the silver screen. Being amicable with his ex-wife and the hero to his beloved daughter means he's running messages between the two. A lot. Often at his expense. It's the best gig he's ever had.
1. middle man

**Author's Note: In honour of Father's Day.**

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Middle Man  
 _by: mazzie may_

"Pumpkin pie!"

"In here, Dad!"

Johnny tosses his bag of luggage‒singular, he's learned to pack light‒on the floor as he passes through the kitchen, stopping at the island to check the stack of mail. Cassie stays at his place while he's gone (or even when he isn't), and keeps up on things around the mansion, like a good girl. She wanders in from the entrance to the den, a hood on her head.

"Welcome home."

"Thanks, honey," he says, keeping his eyes on the envelops he flips through. "I trust things are hunky dory?"

"Mostly," she says, sliding onto a stool. "Drowned a male prostitute in the pool."

"As long as I don't have to meet your dates."

" _Dad_!"

Her laugh is so pretty and he smiles at her from behind his sunglasses. He reaches for them a moment later, though, and sighs. "Alright. Show me."

Cassie feigns ignorance. "Show you what?"

"What you did to your noggin this time."

She blows out a breath as he tosses his sunglasses down, and she reaches for her hood.

Johnny groans. " _Cassandra_."

"Aw, c'mon! Look how cool this is!" she insists, pointing to the metal in her still red ear. "Couldn't you just cry?"

"... _Yes_."

" _Daddy_. You don't think this is cool?"

"No." He rests his elbows on the counter top, looking her in the eye. "Your mother is going to have a _stroke_."

" _Meh meh_ I'm a general, _meh meh_ ," Cassie squeaks, rolling her eyes. Johnny snorts, pushing himself up and walking around her into the living room.

"First of all, that impression of your mother is dead on. Second, that will never not be funny."

His princess follows him. "So I was thinking, since we both know the General is going to be uncool with it..."

"You mean a throw a fit?" he grunts, sitting heavily onto the couch, reaching for the controller to change whatever crap Cassie had left on.

She sits in the recliner catty-corner to him. "Yeah that. I was thinking, maybe..." and she reaches out and pokes his knee. " _You_ could tell her."

Johnny shoots her a look. "Ah, yes, my favourite pastime: _taking your lumps_."

"C'mon, Dad. It's just _hair_."

When he gives her a quizzical look, he realizes he'd been so distracted by the new piercing, he hadn't noticed her new haircut. "Oh, for Pete's sake, Cassie, _come on_. I was gone for only a _week_."

"It's super in right now!"

"You are killing me, honey. Correction," he pinches the bridge of his nose. "Your _mother_ will kill me."

"So, you'll tell her?"

His glare has nothing behind it. She blinks those big blue eyes, but it's overkill. He can't tell her no for anything.

"Only if I get a hug out of it."

She squeals, hopping up and rounding the back of the couch to throw her arms around his neck from behind. "You're the best daddy in the whole wide world, Daddy!"

"Yeah, yeah," he sighs, sounding overly inconvenienced. He pats her arm and then the seat next to him. "Get over here, and rot your brain with your old man."

Cassie happily complies, rolling over the top of the couch and landing at his side, placing her head on his thigh. Johnny pats her head, but feeling the shaved lower scalp of her extreme undercut, he thumps her on the forehead with the remote control.

She laughs.

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 **Author's Note: Just a little snip it. The title and summary are vague enough I could come back to this. Review, if you could!**


	2. poolside

**Author's Note: getting my drabble on**

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Poolside  
 _by: mazzie may_

Cassie takes a running start, jumps‒

"Oh snap!"

 _splash_

‒landing in the deep end of the pool.

Johnny applauds his daughter's catch of the football he'd tossed moments before. "Atta girl, pumpkin pie!"

Having a child is like agreeing to let one's heart wander around outside of one's chest. That precious heart of his bobs around the water, grinning and trying to tread to the edge with the football in hand.

Her adorable crooked grin (which she inherited from her daddio) slips into a frown, like a wave washed it away.

"She's not coming down," she says without pretense. No tone, just fact. Johnny pulls a bit of a face at that, looking at the empty poolside Zero G chair Cassie is eyeing with distaste. It spends most of its days unused, as the lady that uses it does so rarely.

He dunks his hands in the water and brings them up to push his hair back. "I'll go remind her. She probably just forgot."

"She remembers everything but us," she sulks, setting the football on the tasteful border.

He flicks water at her. "Hey, now," he warns. "Don't be shitty."

She sticks out her tongue. " _She's_ shitty."

"Oh, I _know_ ," he says. "The bad attitude won't help you, though."

Johnny wades to the steps and climbs out of the water, reaching for a zebra stripped towel.

"Bee-arr-bee, sweet pea."

"Whatever," is her only reply falling back into the water to play by herself.

He finds Sonya snug as a bug in rug in their bed, a thick manila folder laid open across her thighs.

" 'Ey, mama," he says, dabbing at excess water on his trimmed chest.

He only thinks of it like that as Sonya's eyes rove it before returning to what he assumes is work. "Let's go outside."

"Go outside, then."

"I've _been_ outside."

"Then go do it _again_."

Sigh. Everything is always a challenge. Of course, Johnny doesn't _mind_ a bit of chasing‒Lord knows how much of it he was doing when trying to catch her eye originally. Hell, her being difficult for the sake of it has lead to some pretty incredible nights.

Like the one Cassie was conceived.

Johnny is always down to play, but now that Cassie's in the picture, it can't all be fun and games: Sonya refuting him to see what he'll do; Johnny's vast attempts at conquering her.

"I want you to come with me," he says.

"No."

She doesn't even look up. Damn.

"C'mon, baby." He puts a knee on the bed, balancing himself as he places his towel around his neck."There's grass, and something called the _sky_ ," he says with exaggerated wonder. She scoffs.

"You'll _love_ it."

"I'm reading."

Johnny lets some real frustration show. "You're _always_ reading."

With a sigh, Sonya looks at him with thin patience. "It's for work, it's important," she insists.

"Your eyes are meant to look at more than paperwork, baby."

"Like your movies?" she smirks.

He sticks his tongue out at her, crawling on the to the bed. "Most importantly," Johnny acknowledges. "But there are _other things_."

"I'll stick to this‒hey!"

The folder flutters out of her hands when Johnny takes a swing at it. It goes flying off the end of the bed, lost somewhere to the floor.

"Oh look, it's over there now."

She scowls at him.

He sighs.

"There is a ten-year-old sea princess that wants to show you her kingdom, and that can't happen from here."

The frustration on Sonya's face melts into a touch of guilt.

"I know you don't leave the bed on Saturdays," he goes on, laying on his side. A few errant water drops darken the sheets. "You know I think that's too cute for words; tough as nails Sonya Blade maroons herself in her bedroom every weekend."

Her glare is back.

"Make an exception, baby. _Our_ baby would really appreciate it."

 **()**

Cassie continues to pout and ignore Sonya's presence for all of five minutes, before she's asking her mom if she saw her jump.

Sonya doesn't get in the pool, only dipping her feet in from the top of the steps, but she stays outside.

"C'mere, Mrs Cage."

"You just want Mrs Cage to get her shirt wet."

"Well, duh."

"You guys are gross."

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 **Author's Note: I know this is kind of cheating, as this story takes place when they're still married. Johnny still has to play messenger tho. Hope your Father's Day is lovely! Review, if you could**.


	3. cadet cage

**Author's Note: the tiniest thing ever written**

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Cadet Cage  
 _by: mazzie may_

" _I hate her_!"

That's Cassie response when Johnny asks how the academy is going.

"Oh, good," he comments dryly. "So you saw your mom."

Cassie huffs. "No, I saw the _General_."

Johnny is slouched deeply in his sectional, and his baby girl sits heavily on the side. Arms crossed tightly across her chest, she scowls.

"As if she'd _let me_ forget," she bites off, glaring at the television, not really watching it.

Johnny and Sonya's marriage has been struggling the last little while, and the most of it is their differences in parenting. Johnny (ever willing to compromise) and Sonya (ever pushing for conformity) decided to enroll Cassie in the Green to Gold program when their daughter showed serious interest in the Army.

She'll clear the ranks quickly, but for now, at fifteen, she's a scrub, and her mother seems intent on reminding her of it.

"She's a spiteful harpy without a maternal bone in her body."

Every chance she gets.

He finishes sending a text and drops his cell carelessly to the side. "She doesn't want to be accused of nepotism, honey," he says. "It's sketch enough that the General's daughter is stationed on the same site."

Cassie talks around that point.

"It's 'Cadet Cage' this, 'Cadet Cage' that!" She throws her arms into the air. "At this point, I'm not convinced she knows what my name is! Is that why _you_ have your name on your chest?" Cassie asks caustically. "So she has a freakin' _cue card_ to read in conversations?"

At that, Johnny barks a laugh. His precious princess might have her mother's temper, but she has her daddy's mouth.

"She picked the name," she goes on. "The least she could do is use it!"

"I'm sorry, pumpkin pie."

Johnny checks his phone. Sonya hasn't replied yet.

"I see where my baby mama is coming from, but that doesn't mean my baby girl is wrong," he says. "I'll talk to her."

Cassie's still glowering, but has snuggled more into the couch, mimicking her old man.

"It's two syllables, it's not that hard," she grouses.

"Best I can offer you is pancakes, sweet pea."

Cassie is quiet for a moment, and then, "...With blueberries and bananas?"

"Is there any other way?"

" 'Kay."

His phone chimes on his way to the kitchen.

[/what?]

[/call me when you got a sec, baby]

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 **Author's Note: this is so short, I kind of feel bad about posting it. I promise the next thing will be at least double this. Review what you can, please!**


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